Unified and smart notifications and quick settings system

ABSTRACT

A user device incorporates a user interface platform that combines user notifications and various operational settings as part of a common display region. The notifications and settings are separated from one another, and the user interface dynamically adjusts the arrangement of these features to make it convenient for a user to quickly see the information and to manage it. The setting information may incorporate user logins, network and communication data, display and audio information, as well as other settings. And the application-related notifications may include information about active applications such as an email account, audio or video calls, texting apps, social media platforms, calendars, music players, video players, and the like. In response to a new notification, the system may consolidate the operational settings into core settings information. The system may also auto collapse (or expand) the notification list when a new notification is received.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/381,276, filed Dec. 16, 2016, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.design application No. 29/580,048, filed Oct. 5, 2016 and issued Feb. 5,2019, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated by referenceherein.

BACKGROUND

Conventional laptops, tablets, and similar personal electronic devicesincorporate a user interface (UI) that presents information to the userin a particular manner. For instance, tabs, drop-down menus, icons andother elements may be presented in a certain location or with a specificappearance for a given application. However, in some instances alwaysproviding the same information in the same way may be inefficientdepending on a user's preferences or their current activities.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure provide a UI platform that combines usernotifications and various operational settings in a single displayregion, such as a sidebar, to make it convenient for a user to quicklysee the information and to manage it. The setting-related information,including system icons for user logins, network info, etc., may belocated along the bottom portion of the sidebar, whileapplication-related notifications such as sticky notification icons,hangout icons, etc., are located along another, upper portion of thesidebar. This type of operation is helpful for the user and can improveperformance of the device because it provides efficient access to activeapplications and programs, streamlining management of the system. Thiscan save time and application resources.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a method for presentingsetting and notification information in a user device is provided. Themethod includes identifying, by one or more processors of the userdevice, a display configuration for a display apparatus of the userdevice and selecting, by the one or more processors, a sidebar elementto present as part of a user interface. The user interface is arrangedfor presentation on the display apparatus. The method also includesarranging, by the one or more processors, a group of settings forpresentation along a first side of the user interface, where the groupof settings is arranged in either a summary mode or a detailed mode, aswell as identifying a new notification, the new notificationcorresponding to an active application of the user device. Uponidentification of the new notification, the one or more processorsgenerate a graphical element representing the new notification, andarrange the graphical element along a second side of the user interfaceopposite the first side. The method further includes configuring theuser interface with the sidebar element for display on the displayapparatus.

In one example, the first side is a bottom side of the user interfaceand the second side is a top side of the user interface relative to acurrent orientation of the user device. In another example, the summarymode displays a subset of features from selected settings in the groupof settings. In a further example, the detailed mode displays a set ofadjustable features for one or more of the settings in the group ofsettings.

In one alternative, the method further comprises determining whether aset of notifications presented along the second side of the sidebarexceeds a threshold amount, and, in response to determining that the setof notifications exceeds the threshold amount, collapsing the setnotifications to hide or minimize at least one notification of the setaccording to one or more predetermined criteria. In another alternative,the method further comprises determining whether a set of notificationspresented along the second side of the sidebar exceeds a thresholdamount, and, in response to determining that the set of notificationsexceeds the threshold amount, collapsing the group of settings from thedetailed mode into the summary mode. In a further alternative, themethod also includes applying a do not disturb mode to one or morenotifications of a set of displayed notifications.

In one example, identifying the display configuration includes detectingan orientation of the display apparatus and, upon detecting a change inthe orientation, determining whether to change a length of the sidebarelement. Here, when it is determined to change the length of the sidebarelement, the method may further include varying a display mode of atleast one notification or at least one setting in the group of settings.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a user device is providedwith includes a display module, a user interface module and one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the display module and the userinterface module. The display interface is configured to drive a displayapparatus of the user device to present graphical and other informationto a user. The user interface module is configured to receiveinformation from one or more user input elements of the user device, andto generate a user interface for presentation to the user. And the oneor more processors are configured to identify a display configurationfor the display apparatus, select a sidebar element to present as partof the user interface and arrange a group of settings for presentationalong a first side of the user interface. The group of settings may bearranged in either a summary mode or a detailed mode. The processors arealso configured to identify a new notification corresponding to anactive application of the user device. Upon identification of the newnotification, the processors are configured to generate a graphicalelement representing the new notification and arrange the graphicalelement along a second side of the user interface opposite the firstside. The processors also configure the user interface with the sidebarelement for display on the display apparatus.

In one example, the first side is a bottom side of the user interfaceand the second side is a top side of the user interface relative to acurrent orientation of the user device. In another example, the userdevice further includes one or more position and orientation sensorsoperatively coupled to the display apparatus and configured to generateposition and orientation information including rotation data. Here, upondetermination that the rotation data indicates rotation of the displayapparatus from a first position to a second position, the one or moreprocessors and the user interface module are configured to expand orshrink the sidebar element in at least one of a vertical direction or ahorizontal direction. In this case, expansion or shrinking of thesidebar element includes changing how at least one of notifications andsettings are presented in the user interface.

In another example, the summary mode displays a subset of features fromselected settings in the group of settings and the detailed modedisplays a set of adjustable features for one or more of the settings inthe group of settings. In a further example, the one or more processorsare further configured to determine whether a set of notificationspresented along the second side of the sidebar exceeds a thresholdamount, and, in response to the determination that the set ofnotifications exceeds the threshold amount, either collapse the setnotifications to hide or minimize at least one notification of the setaccording to one or more predetermined criteria or collapse the group ofsettings from the detailed mode into the summary mode.

In one alternative, the one or more processors are further configured toapply a do not disturb mode to one or more notifications of a set ofdisplayed notifications. In another alternative, the one or moreprocessors are further configured to detect an orientation of thedisplay apparatus and upon detection of a change in the orientation,determine whether to change a length of the sidebar element. Here, whenit is determined to change the length of the sidebar element, theprocessors are configured to vary a display mode of at least onenotification or at least one setting in the group of settings.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium is provided that has instructionsstored on it. The instructions, when executed by one or more processors,cause the processors to perform a method for presenting setting andnotification information in a user device. The method includesidentifying a display configuration for a display apparatus of the userdevice and selecting a sidebar element to present as part of a userinterface. The user interface is arranged for presentation on thedisplay apparatus. The method also includes arranging a group ofsettings for presentation along a first side of the user interface, inwhich the group of settings is arranged in either a summary mode or adetailed mode. The method further includes identifying a newnotification corresponding to an active application of the user device.Upon identification of the new notification, the process includesgenerating a graphical element representing the new notification, andarranging the graphical element along a second side of the userinterface opposite the first side. The method also includes configuringthe user interface with the sidebar element for display on the displayapparatus.

In one example here, the method further includes determining whether aset of notifications presented along the second side of the sidebarexceeds a threshold amount. In response to determining that the set ofnotifications exceeds the threshold amount, the process includes eithercollapsing the set notifications to hide or minimize at least onenotification of the set according to one or more predetermined criteria,or collapsing the group of settings from the detailed mode into thesummary mode.

And in another example, identifying the display configuration includesdetecting an orientation of the display apparatus. Upon detecting achange in the orientation, the method includes determining whether tochange a length of the sidebar element, and varying a display mode of atleast one notification or at least one setting in the group of settings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-B illustrate example user devices with user interfacesaccording to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an example block diagram of a user device according to aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example network with different user devicesaccording to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-C illustrate a first use case in accordance with aspects of thetechnology.

FIGS. 5A-C illustrate a second use case in accordance with aspects ofthe technology.

FIGS. 6A-B illustrate a third use case in accordance with aspects of thetechnology.

FIGS. 7A-F illustrate various UI arrangements in accordance with aspectsof the technology.

FIGS. 8A-B illustrate another use case in accordance with aspects of thetechnology.

FIGS. 9A-C illustrate various examples of different settings presentedin the UI.

FIGS. 10A-B illustrate variations of the UI as presented on a userdevice in accordance with aspects of the technology.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an example method according to aspects ofthe disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

The technology relates to content presentation, such as usernotifications and application setting, on a display of a user device,such as a laptop, tablet, netbook, mobile phone, PDA or other type ofuser device. A shared region of the display, such as a sidebar, isconfigured to provide a dynamic arrangement of various notifications andsettings that can relate to current applications and activities. Theuser notifications are arranged along one portion of the UI while thesettings are arranged along another portion of the UI. In one scenario,while the notification and setting portions do not overlap, theirrelative size and appearance may change depending on what applicationsare currently active and what information is being presented to theuser.

As discussed in detail below, this arrangement is flexible toaccommodate content based on different priority levels. In onearrangement, the freshest or most recent notifications may be providedalong a top section of the sidebar. There may be a lot of notificationsfor various applications including mail, hangouts, social media andcalendar applications, to name a few. The notifications may be in theform of persistent or sticky notes that exist while a particularapplication is running, such as a music application. In this case, oncethe application is closed, the notification may be removed from thelist.

The system is able to auto collapse (or expand) the list when a newnotification is received. The collapsing may be an accordion-typeeffect, indicating to the user that a change has been made to the list.Also, a “do not disturb” mode can be applied to some or all of thenotifications, for instance so that audible, visual and/or vibratingfeedback is suppressed. This mode may include “total silence” and“priority” options, allowing the user to further customize presentationof the content on the UI.

The quick settings, for instance along a bottom region of a sidebar, maybe provided in a condensed or collapsed summary arrangement or in a moredetailed advanced mode where particular settings are expanded. Accordingto one aspect of the technology, a given setting may still be accessibleby the user while in the collapsed state. In the summary-type mode, thesettings portion of the UI shrinks/collapses to a core group of settingsvisible and accessible to the user. For instance, the core settings maybe presented as a single row of icons that allow the user to access anaccount login, Wifi and Bluetooth™ settings, as well as audio, power,display and/or other setting options. As with the notifications, thesettings may auto collapse (or expand) depending on current activity,such as upon receipt of a new notification.

These features can be implemented in a variety of use cases. Such usecases and other operational aspects are discussed in detail below.Before that, some example system configurations are presented.

Example Systems

FIG. 1A illustrates an example laptop-style user device 100 ₁ and FIG.1B illustrates an example PDA or smart phone type user device 100 ₂ thatcan incorporate the user interface technology described herein. As shownin FIG. 1A, the user device 100 ₁ includes a user input section 102 ₁and a display section 104 ₁. In this device, the user input and displaysections may be moveable relative to and/or separable from one another.In contrast, as shown in FIG. 1B the user input section 102 ₂ and thedisplay section 104 ₂ may be part of a single housing element.

In either configuration, user interface 106 ₁ or 106 ₂ is generated forpresentation on a display screen. By way of example, the display screenmay be a TFT LCD (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) or OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) display. The user interface 106 ₁ may bepositioned along a right side (e.g., a “right rail”) of the displayscreen, while the user interface 106 ₂ may be arranged to encompass allor substantially all of the display screen. With either type of device,other locations and configurations for the user interface are possible.For instance, the user interface 106 ₁ may be positioned along a liftside (“left rail”) of the display screen, or extending lengthwise acrossan upper or lower region of the display screen.

The block diagram 200 of FIG. 2 illustrates components common to theuser devices of FIGS. 1A and 1B. For instance, processing module 202includes a CPU 204 and one or more graphics processors 206, and memorymodule 208 is configured to store data 210 and instructions 212.

The CPU and other processors of the processing module 202 may or may notoperate in parallel, and may include ASICs, controllers and other typesof hardware circuitry. By way of example, the graphical information maybe generated by the graphics processors 206, while CPU 204 managesoverall operation of the user device 100. The system is configured toreceive information from a user through user inputs of user interfacemodule 214 and to present information to the user via display module 216including a display interface. User interface module 214 may receivecommands and other information from a user via the user inputs andconvert them for submission to a given processor(s). The user interfacemodule 214, in conjunction with the processors of the processing module,is also configured to generate user interface 106 and to provide thenecessary information to the display module 216. The display interfaceof the display interface 216 may comprise appropriate circuitry fordriving the corresponding display device to present graphical and otherinformation to the user.

Memory module 208 can be implemented as one or more of acomputer-readable medium or media, a volatile memory unit or units, or anon-volatile memory unit or units. The memory module 208 may include,for example, flash memory and/or NVRAM, and may be embodied as ahard-drive or memory card. Alternatively the memory module 208 may alsoinclude DVD, CD-ROM, write-capable, and read-only memories. In oneimplementation, a computer program product is tangibly embodied in aninformation carrier. The computer program product contains instructions,such as the instructions 212 that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, perform one or more methods or operations such as thosedescribed herein. Although FIG. 2 functionally illustrates theprocessor(s), memory module, and other elements of the user device asbeing within the same overall block, such components may or may not bestored within the same physical housing.

The data 210 may be retrieved, stored or modified by the processors inaccordance with the instructions 212. The data may also be formatted inany computing device-readable format. The instructions 212 may be anyset of instructions to be executed directly (such as machine code) orindirectly (such as scripts) by the processor(s). For example, theinstructions may be stored as computing device code. In that regard, theterms “instructions” and “programs” may be used interchangeably herein.The instructions may be stored in object code format for directprocessing by the processor(s), or in any other computing devicelanguage including scripts or collections of independent source codemodules that are interpreted on demand or compiled in advance.Functions, methods and routines of the instructions in accordance withthe dynamic user interface are explained in more detail below.

The user inputs of the user interface module 214 may include a touchscreen element such as a capacitive or resistive touch screen, as wellas physical input buttons, keys, switches, dials, slides, a microphone,a mouse, a pen input, trackball, etc. In addition to visual feedback viathe display devices, the system may audio and/or sensory (e.g., tactile)feedback.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the user device also includes a communicationmodule 218 for communicating with other devices and systems. Thecommunication module 218 may include one or both of a wirelesstransceiver and a wired transceiver (not shown), which may provide anetwork connection. The user device may communicate with other remotedevices, which is seen in illustration 300 of FIG. 3. By way of example,various user devices 3001, 3002, 3003, and 3004 may be connected to oneor more servers 320 via network 310. The client devices 300 may obtaincontent such as music, images, videos, messages from a network databasesuch as cloud database 340, which is coupled to one or more servers viaa bus or other arrangement 330.

Returning to FIG. 2, the communication module 218 may communicate withother devices and networks using various configurations and protocols,including short range communication protocols such as near-fieldcommunication (NFC), WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE. The networks may beany kind of network including the Internet, intranets, virtual privatenetworks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), privatenetworks, and various combinations of the foregoing.

In addition, the user device as shown includes one or more position andorientation sensors 220. The position and orientation sensors 220 areconfigured to determine the position and orientation of user device 100.For example, these components may include a GPS receiver to determinethe device's latitude, longitude and/or altitude as well as anaccelerometer, gyroscope or another direction/speed detection device.The client device 100 also includes one or more camera(s) 222 forcapturing still images and recording video streams, speaker(s) 224 and apower module 226.

Position and orientation information from the sensors 220 may be used toadjust the size, position and/or appearance of a displayed UI. Forinstance, if the display device is rotated from a landscape position toa portrait position, the displayed UI may expand (or shrink) in thevertical direction. In turn, this may change how notifications and/orsettings information is presented to the user.

Example Methods and Use Cases

As noted above, features of the technology can be implemented in avariety of use cases. Examples of such user cases and other scenariosare discussed below and with reference to the accompanying figures.

A first use case is presented in FIGS. 4A-C, which shows how theintroduction of user notifications can change how settings and otherinformation is presented to the user. Turning first to FIG. 4A, thisfigure illustrates a shared region 400 of the display (for instance asidebar), which includes a user notifications area 402 and anapplication settings area 404. The user notifications area 402, asindicated by the wavy double lines, may have a variable length. Thislength may depend on the number of notifications being presented, thesize of the notification, the appearance of the notifications, theavailable size of the display screen, or any combination of thesefactors. When there are no notifications, the user notifications area402 may be set to a default size relative to the shared region 400. Byway of example, the default size of the user notification area 402 maybe equivalent to or otherwise no greater than the size of applicationsettings area 404. As shown in FIG. 4A, the user notifications area 402may visually indicate to the user that there are no notifications, forinstance by stating “You have no notifications”, by an icon, shading ofthe area or the like.

The application settings area 404 may also be of variable size as shownin subsequent figures. In FIG. 4A, the application settings area 404 isvisually broken out into or otherwise delineated in a number of rows fordifferent settings and features. By way of example, the applicationsettings area 404 includes a user account setting 406, a near fieldcommunication setting 408, a WiFi communication setting 410, a displaysetting 412, a sound setting 414, a general setting and informationsection 416, and a quick information section 418. More or fewer featuresand settings may also be provided in the application settings area 404.Each of the settings and features may be selected, modified or otherwiseacted upon by the user, as discussed in further detail below.Furthermore, while the settings and features are shown arranged in aparticular order, this order may be changed based on various criteria,including how recently a setting was accessed, a setting priority, userpreferences, etc.

In this example use case, upon the occurrence of an action or event thatsatisfies some criterion, the processing system creates a notificationin response to the criterion, which is presented in the usernotifications area 402. This is shown in FIG. 4B, where notification 420is provided along an upper section of the user notifications area 402.Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4C, when another action or event triggerscreation of a notification, that new notification 422 is added to theuser notifications area 402.

The various notifications may be arranged along the display areaaccording to how new (or old) each notification is, the priority of eachnotification, the type of application or program associated with thenotifications, and combinations of these and other criteria. Forinstance, the freshest or most recent notification may be provided atthe top of the sidebar or other display area. The type of applicationmay include emails, audio or video calls, texting apps, social mediaplatforms, calendars, music players, video players, etc. Each type ofapplication or individual application may be assigned a priority orother ranking that is used to identify the relative placement of anotification associated with that respective application. In the exampleof FIG. 4C, the notification 420 may be for an email account, while thenotification 422 may be for a video call. In this example, thenotification 422 for the video call may be placed at the top of thenotifications list because it is fresher or because the video call has ahigher priority than an email notification.

In this use case, when the notification 420 first occurs, as shown inFIG. 4B the application settings area 404 may be minimized to only showthe quick information section 418, which may include basic informationabout WiFi or cellular signal strength, battery life and the currenttime. Here, the quick information section 418 may also identify thenumber of notifications, as shown by the “1” indicator in FIG. 4B, andthe “2” indicator in FIG. 4C.

A second use case is shown in FIGS. 5A-C, which illustrates how theintroduction of a notification consolidates the application settingsarea into core settings information. Turning first to FIG. 5A, similarto FIG. 4A this figure illustrates a shared region 500 of the display(for instance a right or left rail sidebar), which includes usernotifications area 502 and application settings area 504. For ease ofreadability, reference numerals similar to those in the first use caseare used here. Thus, the application settings area 504 includes a useraccount setting 506, a near field communication setting 508, a WiFicommunication setting 510, a display setting 512, a sound setting 514, ageneral setting and information section 516, and a quick informationsection 518.

And as can be seen, in FIG. 5B, when a new notification 520 isdisplayed, the application settings area 504 is partially collapsed intoa set of consolidated core settings 530. The core settings 530 may onlyinclude icons for certain settings, such as user account, WiFi, NFC,display, sound and power settings. As noted above, the arrangement ofthe settings may vary depending on various criteria. And as shown inFIG. 5C, when another action or event triggers creation of anotification, new notification 522 is added to the user notificationsarea 502. As shown in this example, the new notification 522 may be foran audio program such as a music player.

A third use case is shown in FIGS. 6A-B, which involves “do not disturb”operation. Turning first to FIG. 6A, shared region 600 of the displayincludes multiple notifications 620, 622 and 624, as well as variousaccount settings 616, 618 and 630 similar to those described above inthe earlier use cases. In this case, the UI provides a do not disturbmode as seen by notification 624. The do not disturb mode can preventcertain reminders or other information being presented to the user via,e.g., audible, visual and/or vibratory alerts. In this portion of theuser notifications area, the do not disturb mode gives the user variousoptions to not receive reminders or indications about some or all of thenotifications. As shown, the user may select for this feature to beactive until the user turns it off or for a selected period of time. Theselected period of time may be changes by the “−” and “+” buttons.

In addition, the user may select between different quiet levels. Forinstance, the user may select either a “total silence mode” or a“priority only” mode. In the total silence mode 626 (see FIG. 6B), whilethe notifications may be presented visually on the display, none of thenotifications provides any audible sounds or other alerts to the user.In the priority only mode, only selected notifications are quieted. Andas seen in the difference between the general do not disturb modenotification 624 and the total silence mode 626, the size and appearanceof these notifications may differ, and as a result, the relative size ofthe user notifications area may change as well. This may result in othernotifications—such as older or lower priority notifications—beingpresented lower in the user notifications area. Alternatively, there maybe a gap region 628 between the user notification area and theapplication settings area. This gap region 628 may vary in sizedepending on the number of notifications and/or settings currentlypresented on the UI.

A number of UI configurations are shown in FIGS. 7A-F. Starting indisplay region 700 of FIG. 7A, the user account setting 406 from FIG. 4Ais seen as expanded into a full user setting panel 702. Here, this panelmay include a user settings section 704, in which the user may select ormodify certain aspects of the user settings. One or more users arelisted in registered user sections 706. This allows for multiple usersof the same device to easily log in and out of an application, which maybe particularly useful in a classroom or training situation. A new usercan be added via the new user section 708. Core settings 730 provides anindication of various settings that the user can quickly select andmanage. Here, the user account setting icon is highlighted to show thatthis is the active setting.

FIG. 7B illustrates display region 720, in which the settings sectionincludes brightness panel 722. The brightness panel 722 allows the userto easily change the brightness of the display device, for instance viaa linear slider bar. In this example, the brightness setting icon ofcore settings 730 is highlighted to show that this is the activesetting.

FIG. 7C illustrates display region 740, which includes an audio panel742. The audio panel 742 includes, for instance, volume section 744,chime section 746, alarm section 748 and core settings 730. In the coresettings, the audio icon is highlighted to indicate that the audio panel742 is the active setting. Similarly, FIG. 7D illustrates display region760, which includes an abbreviated volume panel 762. The abbreviatedvolume panel 762 may be used to control the volumes for sounds, chimes,alarms, etc. simultaneously. Or, alternatively, the abbreviated volumepanel 762 may only adjust one type of volume.

FIG. 7E illustrates display region 770, in which WiFi communicationsetting 410 of FIG. 4A is expanded into WiFi panel 772. The WiFi panel772 includes WiFi settings section 774, in which the user may select ormodify certain aspects of the WiFi settings, for instance searching foradditional WiFi hot spots or removing a particular hotspot from theactive list, or enabling or disabling the WiFi transceiver. One or moreWiFi hotspots are listed in hotspot sections 776. The user may choosewhich hotspot to use by selecting one of the available options. Similarto the above, the WiFi icon in the core settings 730 is highlighted toshow that the WiFi panel 772 is active.

FIG. 7F illustrates display region 780, in which near fieldcommunication setting 408 of FIG. 4A is expanded into NFC panel 782. TheNFC panel 782 includes NFC settings section 784, in which the user mayselect or modify certain aspects of the NFC settings, for instanceenabling or disabling NFC operation. One or more NFC links are listed insections 786. The user may choose which NFC link to use by selecting oneof the available options. Similar to the above, the NFC icon in the coresettings 730 is highlighted to show that the NFC panel 782 is active.

FIGS. 8A-B present another use case, in which the UI transitions betweenone view 800 (FIG. 8A) with an expanded application settings area andanother view 810 (FIG. 8B) with a condensed application settings areafocusing on the user settings. The user notifications area may have oneor more notifications, such as for a music application. Depending on thenumber of notifications, as discussed above there may be a gap regionseparating the notifications from the settings. As indicated by the wavydouble lines, in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the UI display region may have avariable length for both the user notifications area and the applicationsettings area.

FIGS. 9A-C present further examples of WiFi and NFC settings usingrespective views 900, 910 and 920. FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate settingsinformation focusing separately on WiFi and NFC. FIG. 9C illustrates avariation in which the wireless communication settings for WiFi and NFCare provided along with the user account, display and full audio panel.

And FIGS. 10A-B illustrate two variations of how the applicationsettings area may look on a UI for user device 100 ₂. For instance, indisplay 1000 of FIG. 10A, the application settings area is hidden asidefrom the quick information section positioned along a bottom region ofthe UI, while the notification is positioned along a top region of theUI. And in display 1010 of FIG. 10B, an expanded application settingsarea is positioned along the lower area of the UI. As indicated by thewavy double lines, the overall UI may have a variable length. And asnoted above, the relative sizes of the application settings area and theuser notifications area may change according to what notificationsand/or settings are to be presented to the user.

Finally, FIG. 11 is an example flow diagram 1100 of operational featuresof the technology described above, which may be performed by one or moreprocessors, either alone or in conjunction with the user interfacemodule, display interfaces and other components of the user device. Asshown in block 1102, the process identifies a display configuration fora display apparatus of the user device. At block 1104, the processselects a sidebar or other graphical element to present as part of theUI. At block 1106, the process arranges a group of settings forpresentation along a first region of the UI. The settings may bearranged in either a summary or detailed mode according to any of theexamples and use cases illustrated in the figures and described herein.At block 1108, the system identifies whether a new notificationcorresponding to an active application or other program or process ofthe user device should be presented to the user. Then at block 1110, inresponse to this identification the system generates a graphical elementfor that notification and arranges the graphical element along a secondregion of the UI opposite the first region. For instance, in someexamples the first region including the settings is arranged along abottom section of the UI while the second region including thenotification(s) is arranged along a top section of the UI. And in block1112 the UI is configured, for instance as a sidebar element, forpresentation on the display device. The process, including blocks1108-1112, may repeat as new notifications are identified and/orapplications or tasks are completed.

The logic and process flows depicted in the figures and described hereinare not limited to a particular order or sequence unless expresslystated. In addition, other steps may be provided, or steps may beeliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be addedto, or removed from, the described systems.

Although the technology herein has been described with reference toparticular embodiments and scenarios, it is to be understood that theseare merely illustrative of the principles and applications of thepresent technology. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative examples and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present technology as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method for presenting setting and notification information in auser device, the method comprising: arranging, by one or more processorsbased upon a display configuration for a display apparatus of the userdevice, a group of settings for presentation in a first region of a userinterface, the group of settings presenting a set of adjustable featuresfor one or more of the settings in the group of settings; arranging, bythe one or more processors, a user notification area for presentation ina second region of the user interface aligned with and not overlappingthe first region; identifying a received user notification; adding thereceived user notification to the user notification area, wherein a sizeof the first region and a size of the second region are each variable inaccordance with a number of notifications in the notification area; andconfiguring the user interface for display on the display apparatus. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first region and the second regionare disposed along a sidebar element of the user interface.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein a gap region is disposed between the firstregion and the second region along the sidebar element of the userinterface.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising varying a sizeof the gap region based on the number of notifications in thenotification area.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the size of atleast the second region is variable using an accordion-type effect. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein at least a subset of the group ofsettings are collapsible from a detailed mode to a summary mode.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein one or more of the subset of setting are autocollapsible depending on a current activity associated with the userinterface.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising collapsing allnotifications in the user notification to hide or minimize at least onenotification according to one or more predetermined criteria.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the group of settings includes a usersettings section, the user settings section listing one or moreregistered users.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the user settingssection lists a user name, an account address, and an icon for at leasta given one of the one or more registered users.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the user name and user account address are arranged in theuser settings section adjacent to the icon for at least the given one ofthe one or more registered users.
 12. A user device, comprising: adisplay module including a display interface configured to drive adisplay apparatus of the user device to present graphical and otherinformation to a user; a user interface module configured to receiveinformation from one or more user input elements of the user device, andto generate a user interface for presentation to the user; one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the display module and the userinterface module, the one or more processors being configured to:arrange, based upon a display configuration for a display apparatus ofthe user device, a group of settings for presentation in a first regionof the user interface, the group of settings presenting a set ofadjustable features for one or more of the settings in the group ofsettings; arrange a user notification area for presentation in a secondregion of the user interface aligned with and not overlapping the firstregion; identify a received user notification; add the received usernotification to the user notification area, wherein a size of the firstregion and a size of the second region are each variable in accordancewith a number of notifications in the notification area; and configurethe user interface for display on the display apparatus.
 13. The userdevice of claim 12, wherein the first region and the second region aredisposed along a sidebar element of the user interface.
 14. The userdevice of claim 13, wherein: a gap region is disposed between the firstregion and the second region along the sidebar element of the userinterface, and the one or more processors are further configured to varya size of the gap region based on the number of notifications in thenotification area.
 15. The user device of claim 12, wherein at least asubset of the group of settings are collapsible from a detailed mode toa summary mode.
 16. The user device of claim 12, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to collapse all notifications in theuser notification to hide or minimize at least one notificationaccording to one or more predetermined criteria.
 17. The user device ofclaim 12, wherein the group of settings includes a user settingssection, the user settings section listing one or more registered users.18. The user device of claim 17, wherein the user settings section listsa user name, an account address, and an icon for at least a given one ofthe one or more registered users.
 19. The user device of claim 18,wherein the user name and user account address are arranged in the usersettings section adjacent to the icon for at least the given one of theone or more registered users.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions,when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform a method for presenting setting and usernotification information in a user device, the method comprising:arranging, based upon a display configuration for a display apparatus ofthe user device, a group of settings for presentation in a first regionof a user interface, the group of settings presenting a set ofadjustable features for one or more of the settings in the group ofsettings; arranging a user notification area for presentation in asecond region of the user interface aligned with and not overlapping thefirst region; identifying a received user notification; adding thereceived user notification to the user notification area, wherein a sizeof the first region and a size of the second region are each variable inaccordance with a number of notifications in the notification area; andconfiguring the user interface for display on the display apparatus.